MEPs reject seed law

posted by Laura Rayner | March 11, 2014

The European Parliament today (Tuesday) voted to reject draft EU legislation on seeds and seed marketing. Alyn has been pushing for the controversial proposal from the European Commission to be rejected and has welcomed the outcome as adding to pressure on the Commission to withdraw its proposal.

Alyn said:

"The European Parliament has today voted send the Commission back to the drawing board by rejecting this flawed legislative proposal. MEPs have voted to put the interests of farmers, long term food security and agro-biodiversity first.

"The decision by the Commission to move 12 directives into a single regulation raised more questions than it answered and I am glad that this has been recognised and rejected today.

"Since this proposal was first announced I have received hundreds of emails and letters from concerned constituents worried about the impact it might have on the availability of seeds and on biodiversity. The Commission’s one-size-fits-all approach would have seriously restricted the freedom of operators working in specific sectors, hitting small-scale seed breeders in particular.

"Any new proposal needs to respect the rights of gardeners and small breeders: only seeds produced and sold for commercial use should be covered by any future legislation. Most importantly, the legislation needs to truly accommodate high-diversity seeds, like wind-pollinated and heterogeneous varieties and other locally-adapted seeds.

"I hope this is recognised by the Commission as they go back and rethink this proposal."